The present invention pertains to a modular oxygen supply system generally and also to a modular oxygen supply system used onboard airplanes to supply the crew and the passengers with oxygen.
An oxygen supply system of modular design for industrial applications has become known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,605,179 entitled xe2x80x9cIntegrated Gas Panel.xe2x80x9d A plurality of modules of such a system are connected in a compact arrangement via gas lines.
Oxygen generators, which are used to supply the crew and the passengers with oxygen, have been used onboard airplanes for some time. Also known are oxygen generators that concentrate the oxygen from the ambient air, especially the tapped air of the engine, by means of pressure change adsorption, so that product gas enriched with oxygen is subsequently fed into the breathing air. The prior-art oxygen generators are dimensioned corresponding to the size of the crew and the possible passenger capacity of the particular aircraft model and are permanently installed there.
The object of the present invention is to provide a modular oxygen supply system, which can be flexibly adapted to the particular needs of an aircraft.
According to the invention, a modular oxygen supply system is provided comprising at least one module skeleton with a baseplate with frames arranged in parallel to one another. The system includes supply lines for ambient air with air connections for taking off the air, first gas lines for oxygen with first gas connections for taking up the oxygen and second gas lines for outgoing air with second gas connections for taking up outgoing air. Rack guides with data lines are provided. At least one individual module can be pushed into the module skeleton. Each individual module has at least one molecular sieve container fastened on a baseplate with the gas connections and with an electric contact. Each individual module has a gas treatment unit for the ambient air fed in. A pressure reducer and a multiple-way valve as well as an oxygen reservoir are arranged downstream of the molecular sieve container or containers connected in parallel. Each individual module is pushed into the module skeleton and is connected via the gas connections to a supply line for the ambient air, to a first gas line for oxygen and to a second gas line for the outgoing air. The electric contact of the individual module is connected to the data line of the module skeleton.
A plurality of the individual modules may be arranged in a module skeleton in parallel to one another and at right angles to the supply lines and the first gas lines and the second gas lines of the module skeleton.
The gas connections of each of the individual modules and the air connections and the first and second gas connections of the module skeleton may be designed as cooperating plug-in connections. Both the air connection and the gas connections of the module skeleton and the gas connections of each individual module may have a self-sealing design, so that the connections open only when the individual module is pushed into the module skeleton and is connected to same.
The electric connection of the electric contact of each individual module to the data line of the module skeleton is designed as an electric plug-in connection. The plug-in connections between the gas-carrying lines of each of the individual modules to those of the module skeleton may also be used for the electric contacting between the electric contact and the data line.
One essential advantage of the modular oxygen supply system according to the present invention is the possibility of flexible adaptation of the oxygen supply due to the use of individual modules in a special module skeleton. Thus, the oxygen supply system is adapted to the needs of the aircraft within the framework of the maximum plug-in place capacity, which is predetermined by the module skeleton, by plugging more or fewer individual modules into the module skeleton. When every individual module is plugged into the module skeleton, the necessary connections to the pneumatic and electric lines are established by outlets. Both the electrical and the pneumatic connections are preferably established simultaneously with the plugging-in operation by using combined electric-pneumatic plug-in connections.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.